Cape gets tough on transport
2007-11-14 15:33
Cape Town - In the wake of two horrifying accidents within a week, the Western Cape government has vowed to crack down on the way farmworkers are transported.
Agriculture MEC Cobus Dowry said on Wednesday he was "very concerned" about the lack of policing by traffic officials.
"I will engage with my colleagues in the Cabinet on the implementation of more stringent measures to protect the lives of farmworkers who have to travel under these conditions," he said in a statement.
Seven farmworkers were killed in an accident on the N1 near De Doorns in the Boland on Tuesday evening, when the truck carrying them overturned.
Last Friday ten farmworkers were killed when a bus taking seasonal workers home plunged down a cliff near Piketberg in the Swartland.
Dowry said he had been attending the memorial service for the Piketberg workers when he received news of the De Doorns accident.
70 standing on back of truck
He said he understood there were about 70 people standing on the back of the De Doorns truck, which was "totally unacceptable".
"It is shocking to think that we have lost yet another group of farm workers in an accident whilst they were travelling on a open truck which did not meet with the required regulations," he said.
He said though many farmers complied with regulations on transporting workers, incidents like this showed a "total disregard" for workers' lives.
Although he had the full support of organised agriculture and most farmers, he wanted to meet them again on this issue.
He said he would ask his department to set up a conference with the agricultural and transport sectors.
- SAPA